In this section

CHAPTER XIX.

THE OLD KENT ROAD, &c.

"Inde iter in Cantium."—Cæsar.

The Course of the Old Watling Street—M. Sorbierre's Visit to London in the Reign of Charles II.—Evelyn's Account of the Return of Charles II.,
on his Restoration—Anecdote of Pitt and Dundas—Mrs. Mapp, the celebrated Bone-setter—Condition of the Old Kent Road in the Last
Century—The Licensed Victuallers' Asylum—The South Metropolitan Gas Works—Christ Church—The Canal Bridge—Marlborough Chapel—St. Thomas à Watering—Old Taverns and Roadside Inns—The "World Turned Upside Down"—The Deaf and Dumb Asylum—The
New Kent Road—Lock's Fields—Great Dover Street—Trinity Square and Trinity Church—Horsemonger Lane Gaol—Leigh Hunt a Prisoner
there—Execution of the Mannings—The Surrey Sessions' House—Newington Causeway.

Following the course of the old Watling Street,
we now make our way back to the southern extremity of the Borough, by the broad thoroughfare
of the Old Kent Road. All trace of Watling Street
at this point, we need hardly remark, has long
since disappeared. The branch of the ancient
Watling Street, which extended from Dover to
Canterbury, and thence through Faversham and
Rochester to London, was the road followed by
nearly all travellers from the days of the Romans,
the days of pilgrimages and crusades, and thence
again until the formation of railways diverted their
steps into another track. M. Sorbierre, a French
gentleman of letters, who visited London in the
reign of Charles II., thus writes:—"That I might
not take post, or be obliged to use the stage-coach,
I went from Dover to London in a wagon; I was
drawn by six horses, one before another, and driven
by a wagoner, who walked by the side of it. He
was clothed in black, and appointed in all things
like another St. George: he had a brave 'mounteror'
on his head, and was a merry fellow, fancied he
made a fine figure, and seemed highly pleased with
himself."

Along this road travelled Charles II. and a gay
train of cavaliers, on his Restoration and return, by
way of Dover to London, in May, 1660. Evelyn
draws the following picture of the happy event:—"This day his Majesty Charles II. came to
London after a sad and long exile, and calamitous
suffering both of the king and Church. This was
also his birthday, and with a triumph of about
20,000 horse and foote, brandishing their swords
and shouting with inexpressible joy; the wayes
strew'd with flowers, the bells ringing, the streets
hung with tapestrie, fountaines running with wine:
the Maior, Aldermen, and all the Companies in
their liveries, chaines of gold, and banners; lords
and nobles clad in cloth of silver, gold, and velvet;
the windows and balconies well set with ladies;
trumpets, music, and myriads of people flocking
even so far as from Rochester, so as they were
seven hours in passing into the Citty, even from
two in the afternoon till nine at night."

In the days nearer to our own, when there were
no railroads, even this unfashionable thoroughfare
was used by the most distinguished travellers.
Stothard, the painter, for instance, tells us that,
happening to be one evening at an inn on this
road, he met Pitt and Dundas (afterwards Lord
Melville), who had been obliged to rest there for
the night on their way from Walmer to London.
Next morning, as they were stepping into their
carriage, the waiter said to Stothard, "Sir, do you
observe those two gentlemen?" "Yes," was the
reply; "I see they are Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas."
"And how much wine do you think they drank
last night, for the good of the house?" Stothard
could not guess. "Seven bottles," was the waiter's
answer.

We find in Jeaffreson's "Book about Doctors,"
the following ludicrous story relative to this part
of the metropolis:—"One of the sights of the
Old Kent Road at the beginning of the eighteenth
century was the cavalcade of Mrs. Mapp, the
celebrated bone-setter, on her way to the City.
On one occasion, we are told, as the lady was
proceeding along the Old Kent Road towards the
Borough in her carriage-and-four, and manifesting
by her manner that she had partaken too freely of
Geneva water, she found herself in a very trying
position. Her fat frame, eccentric dress, and
dazzling equipage, were, in the eyes of the mob,
sure signs of royalty, so that she was immediately
taken for a court lady of German origin and unpopular repute, whose word was omnipotent at
St. James's. Soon a crowd gathered round the
carriage, and, with the proper amount of yelling
and hooting, were about to break the windows with
stones, when, acting very much as Nell Gwynne did
on a similar occasion, she exclaimed, in a manner
more emphatic than polite, 'What! don't you
know me? I'm Mrs. Mapp, the bone-setter!'"
The tale is familiar to all readers of the "Eccentric
Biography."

The Old Kent Road, known as Kent Street
Road until the end of the last century, was a continuation of Kent Street, in the Borough, of which
we have already spoken, (fn. 1) and was the highway
from Kent to the metropolis. There were but few
houses in the Kent Road a century ago. Rocque's
Map, published in 1750, shows the thoroughfare
lined with hedgerows, bespeaking its rural character
in the days of George II.

In 1827 the Licensed Victuallers' Asylum was
founded, on six acres of freehold land lying just off
the Old Kent Road. It consists of a group of onestoreyed houses, chapel, chaplain's residence, board
and court rooms, library, &c., set round two green
lawns. The Duke of Sussex was its first patron in
1827, and he was succeeded by the Prince Consort,
on whose death the Prince of Wales assumed the
office. The idea of establishing an institution
wherein the distressed members of the licensed
victuallers' trade, and their wives or widows, might
be enabled to spend the latter part of their days in
peace and quietness, was conceived by the late Mr.
Joseph Proud Hodgson, in the year 1826, when he
called a meeting of several influential gentlemen in
the trade, and ventilated his views; and, after
serious consideration, it was determined that a
society should be formed under the title of the
Licensed Victuallers' Asylum.

Subscriptions were solicited, and the hearty
response that was accorded to the scheme by
those most deeply interested in its success enabled
the committee to purchase the land above mentioned, upon which it was resolved to erect an
asylum, to consist of one hundred and one separate
houses, containing three rooms each, besides the
requisite conveniences. In May, 1828, the foundation-stone was laid, with full Masonic honours,
by the Duke of Sussex, in the presence of a distinguished company, many of whom in after years
exhibited a sincere attachment to the institution.
At this time it was determined by the promoters
of the institution to erect the central portion of the
building, to consist of forty-three houses, which
were perfected, and speedily became the abode of
as many deserving individuals.

The applicants for admission being numerous,
it was deemed advisable to perfect the asylum as
early as circumstances would permit, and consequently, in the year 1831, the south wing was
erected, and in 1833 the north wing, thus completing the original design of the institution. The
friends of the society, being relieved of the anxiety
of erecting additional houses, in the year 1835
turned their attention to the advisability of granting
weekly allowances of money to the inmates of the
asylum, in order to provide them with the necessaries of life, and, as might be imagined, the proposal met with cordial approval, and allowances
were then commenced, since which period they
have been increased from time to time, until they
have reached the sum of twelve shillings per week
for married couples and eight shillings for single
persons—members of the Incorporated Society
of Licensed Victuallers receiving one shilling per
week extra. In addition to the allowances, a
weekly supply of coal is granted to each inmate,
besides being supplied with medical attendance,
medicine, and wine, when recommended by the
medical officer. In 1842 a charter of incorporation
was granted to the institution, and in the following
year, on the death of the Duke of Sussex, Prince
Albert became patron.

In 1849 was commenced the "ladies' wing," comprising twenty-three habitations, the foundationstone being laid by H.R.H. the Prince Consort:
this wing was completed in the following year.
Several years having elapsed since an addition was
made to the asylum, this important subject was
considered, and so readily approved of by those
who had the management of the institution, that
in the year 1858 a new wing was commenced, the
asylum being again honoured by its royal patron
condescending to lay the foundation-stone. These
buildings were designated the Albert Wing, in compliment to his Royal Highness, and consist of
thirty-four houses.

A donation of one thousand guineas having been
made to the institution in 1866, by a Mr. William
Smalley, it was resolved that the only remaining
space on the asylum grounds available for building
purposes should be utilised. This was accordingly
carried out, and ten additional houses built, which
were named the Smalley Wing, the foundation-stone
being laid by the Duke of Edinburgh. This addition completed the asylum as a building, and it
now consists of one hundred and seventy separate
and distinct houses.

The beautiful little chapel is enriched with
stained-glass memorial windows, and also several
handsome marble tablets, in memory of donors to
the institution; whilst upon the grounds in front
of the building, and facing the Asylum Road, is
erected a marble statue of the late Prince Consort,
which was unveiled in 1864 by the Prince of
Wales.

The expenses attending the institution are about
£7,000 annually, which is met by the subscriptions
among the members of the trade, by bequests, by
the proceeds of a ball given annually at Willis's
Rooms or the Freemasons' Tavern, and also by the
proceeds of the anniversary festival.

Close by the canal bridge, at a short distance
westward of the Asylum Road, are the works belonging to the South Metropolitan Gas Company,
whose operations extend over thirteen square miles,
from the New Kent Road southwards as far as
Croydon parish, taking in considerable portions of
Newington, St. George the Martyr, a small part of
Bermondsey, nearly all Camberwell, a large portion
of Lambeth, and all Streatham. The company has
altogether about 170 miles of main-pipes; it consumes annually about 84,000 tons of coal, and
supplies about 800,000,000 feet of gas in a year.
The number of retorts is about 500, and the seven
gas-holders are capable of storing nearly 4,000,000
feet of gas; while the greatest quantity made in a
day somewhat exceeds that amount. This gas
company was founded in 1833, for the supply of
cannel gas, and incorporated in 1842, with an
authorised capital of £200,000. In 1853 the
south side of the Thames was divided into districts,
which arrangements were sanctioned by Parliament
in the Metropolis Gas Act, 1860. The company
first supplied gas in 1834; and after four years'
trial it was convincingly proved that to supply
cannel gas made from the common coal was a
financial mistake, and therefore cannel gas was
abandoned in 1838. In consequence of the
gradual extension of these works, the district
church of Christ Church, Camberwell, which was
built in 1838, on the north side of the Old Kent
Road, has been demolished, and a new church
built on the opposite side of the road. The new
edifice, a brick building of Gothic architecture, was
erected in 1868.

Beyond mentioning the canal bridge, which
spans the Grand Surrey Canal close by the abovementioned gas-works, and making a passing reference to Marlborough (Congregational) Chapel,
and also to the new Nonconformist chapel at the
corner of Albany Road—built for the congregation
formerly assembling at the old Maze Pond Chapel,—there is little or nothing in this thoroughfare
calling for special remark till we arrive near the
junction of the Old and New Kent Roads with
Great Dover Street.

St. Thomas à Watering was once the boundary
of the City liberties, and in the "olden time," when
the lord mayor and sheriffs "in great state"
crossed the water to open Southwark Fair and to
inspect the City boundaries, the City magistrates
continued either to St. George's Church, Newington Bridge, or "to the stones pointing out the City
liberties at St. Thomas à Watering." The precise
situation was as near as possible that part of the
Old Kent Road which is intersected by the Albany
Road, and the memory of the place is still kept
alive by St. Thomas's Road, close by, and by the
tavern-signs in the neighbourhood. "At the commencement of the present century," writes Mr.
Blanch, in his history of "Ye Parishe of Cam[b]erwell," "there was a stream here which served as
a common sewer, across which a bridge was built;
and in going from Camberwell into Newington or
Southwark, it was not unusual for people to say they
were going over the water. The current from the
Peckham hills was at times so strong as to overflow
at least two acres of ground."

St. Thomas à Waterings was situated close to
the second milestone on the Old Kent Road, and
was so called from a brook or spring, dedicated to
St. Thomas à Becket. Chaucer's pilgrims, as we
have seen in a previous chapter, (fn. 2) passed it on their
way to the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket at
Canterbury:—
"And forth we riden a litel more than pas,
Unto the watering of Seint Thomàs,
And then our host began his hors arrest."
Ben Jonson, in The New Inn, makes mention of
the spot in the following lines:—
"These are the arts
Or seven liberal deadly sciences,
Of pagery, or rather paganism,
As the tides run! to which if he apply him,
He may perhaps take a degree at Tyburn
A year the earlier; come to read a lecture
Upon Aquinas at St. Thomas à Waterings."

This spot was in the old Tudor days the place
of execution for the northern parts of Surrey; and
here the Vicar of Wandsworth, his chaplain, and
two other persons of his household, were hung,
drawn, and quartered in 1539 for denying the
supremacy of Henry VIII. in matters of faith.

In 1553 (January 3rd) "was caried from the
Marshalleshe unto Saynt Thomas of Wateryng a
talman, and went thedur with the rope a-bowt ys
neke, and so he hanggd a whylle, and the rope
burst, and a whylle after and then they went for
a-nodur rope, and so lyke-wyss he burst ytt and fell
to the ground, and so he skapyd with his lyffe."

On the 3rd of October, 1559, a "nuw payre of
galows was sett up at Sant Thomas of Watering;"
and on the 12th of February, 1650–1, "was reynyd
[arraigned] in Westmynster Hall v men, iij was for
burglare, and ij were cutpurses, and cast to be
hanged at Sant Thomas of Watering: one was a
gentyllman."

One of the quarters of Sir Thomas Wyatt, who
was beheaded for rebellion in April, 1554, was
exposed at this place; and on the 18th of June,
1556, a younger son of Lord Sandys was executed
here for robbing a cart, coming from a fair, at
Beverley. The booty was estimated at about four
thousand pounds.

In 1559 five men were executed here. Macbyn,
in his Diary, thus records the event:—"The ix day
of Feybruary at after-none a-bowt iij of the cloke, v
men wher hangyd at Sant Thomas of watherynges;
one was captyn Jenkes, and (blank) Warde, and
(blank) Walles, and (blank) Beymont, and a-nodur
man, and they were browth [brought] up in ware
[war] all their lyffes,—for a grett robere done."

John Henry, the author of some of the "Martin
Mar-Prelate Tracts," was hung here in 1593; and
Franklin, one of the agents implicated in the
murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, was executed at
the same place in 1615.

The last persons executed at St. Thomas à
Watering were a father and son, who suffered the
penalty of the law for murder about the year
1740.

The most noticeable feature in the Old Kent
Road is the number of public-houses, each with
its swinging sign and drinking-trough for horses.
Among these houses of "entertainment for man
and beast" is the "Kentish Drovers," which has
existed here for about a couple of centuries, and
was a well-known halting-place on the road to
Kent, at a time (not very far distant) when the
thoroughfare was bordered on either side by
green fields and market gardens. The "Thomas
à Becket," at the corner of Albany Road, commemorates the spot where the pilgrims first halted
on their way from London to Canterbury (as mentioned above); the "Shard Arms" perpetuates
the cognisance of the once powerful and wealthy
Shard family, who were large landowners in the
neighbourhood. The oldest of the inns in the Old
Kent Road, perhaps, is one near the Bricklayers'
Arms Station, which rejoices in the somewhat
singular sign of "The World Turned Upside
Down." The house is supposed to be upwards
of two hundred years old, and down to about 1840
its sign-board represented a man walking at the
South Pole. It may have been first set up after
the discovery of Australia, Van Diemen's Land, or
Terra del Fuego; but Mr. Larwood, in his work
on "Sign-boards," interprets it as "meaning a state
of things the opposite of what is natural and
usual: a conceit in which," he adds, "the artists
of former ages took great delight, and which they
represented by animals chasing men, horses riding
in carriages, and similar conceits and pleasantries."
The old sign-board was blown down many years
ago; and in 1868 the house itself was in great
part rebuilt and wholly new-fronted.

Nearly opposite this old hostelry stands the
Deaf and Dumb Asylum. This admirable institution, the foundation-stone of which was laid by
the Duke of Gloucester in 1807, is a large but
plain and unpretending edifice, separated from
the roadway by a grove of trees. Miss Priscilla
Wakefield, in her "Perambulations," published
in 1809, commences one of her "letters" as
follows:—"We continued our excursions into the
county of Kent, stopping on the Kent Road to
view a handsome building now erecting for the
Asylum for poor Deaf and Dumb Children, an
unfortunate class of persons, too long overlooked,
or ineffectually commiserated among us. The
applicants becoming so numerous that not onehalf of them could be admitted, it was resolved
to extend the plan. A new subscription was set
on foot for the purpose, and the present building
was raised, without encroaching on the former
funds of the institution." This asylum or school
was the first established in England for the Deaf
and Dumb, and was originally opened in 1792,
in Fort Place, Bermondsey, under the auspices
of the Rev. John Townsend, of Jamaica Road
Chapel, and of the Rev. H. C. Mason, then
curate of Bermondsey, both of whose names are
perpetuated by Townsend Street and Mason
Street, on either side of the Asylum. "The
teacher," as Timbs tells us in his "Curiosities
of London," "was Joseph Watson, LL.D., who
held the situation upwards of thirty-seven years,
and counted upwards of 1,000 pupils, though he
commenced with six pupils only. In 1807 the
first stone of a new building was laid in the
Old Kent Road, whither the establishment was
removed in the year 1809; and the Society celebrated the event by a public thanksgiving at
the church of St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey,
the Rev. C. Crowther preaching the sermon. A
memorial bust of the Rev. Mr. Townsend has
been placed in the committee-room. The pupils,
male and female, are such children only as are
deaf and dumb, not being deficient in intellect.
Other children are admitted on payment of £20
annually for board; and private pupils are also
received. The term of each pupil's stay is five
years; they are taught to read, write, draw, and
cipher, to speak by signs, and in many instances
to articulate so as to be clearly understood. They
are wholly clothed and maintained by the charity,
are instructed in working trades, and in some cases
apprentice-fees are given. The Asylum is amply
supported by the wealthy; and besides its annual
receipts from subscriptions, donations, and legacies,
&c., it has some funded stock. The pupils are
elected half-yearly, without reference to locality, sect,
or persuasion. The importance of this Asylum
is attested by the fact that in 1833, in twenty
families of 159 children, ninety were deaf and
dumb."

In connection with the above-mentioned institution, there is a branch establishment at Margate,
which was used for the first time in August, 1876.
From the report for 1876 we learn that during that
year seventy-six children were admitted and sent
to the branch asylum at Margate. Eighty-one
children left the London asylum during the year,
and thirty-five were apprenticed to various trades.
As many as 4,170 children had been admitted
since the foundation of the Asylum, and 1,550
apprenticed since the year 1812. The ordinary
receipts in 1876, including a balance from the previous year of £1,296, amounted to upwards of
£9,354, and the general expenses to £12,055,
the deficit having to be met by absorbing the sum
of £3,334 bequeathed as legacies instead of being
funded.

THE LICENSED VICTUALLERS' ASYLUM.

Close by the Deaf and Dumb Asylum the Old
Kent Road terminates in the branch thoroughfares
of New Kent Road, which trends south-westwardly
to the "Elephant and Castle," and of Great Dover
Street, which unites with the Borough, close by St.
George's Church. The former of these thoroughfares—formerly called the Greenwich Road—is a
broad and open roadway; it has been lately
planted on either side with trees, so that in course
of time it will doubtless form a splendid boulevard,
of the Parisian type, and one worthy of being
copied in many other parts of London. Great
Dover Street is of comparatively recent growth,
having been formed since the commencement of
the present century to supersede the old, narrow,
and disreputable Kent Street, which runs parallel
with it on the north side, and to which we have
referred above.

Among the residents of this street was Mr. T.
C. Noble, the author of "Memorials of Temple
Bar," and of other antiquarian works. It may be
recorded that in 1869, when a bill was introduced
into the House of Commons to divest some of the
great City companies of the estates in the north of
Ireland which they had purchased from James I.,
Mr. Noble published a series of letters, which had
an important effect in causing the abandonment of
the bill. For his successful opposition to the
scheme, Mr. Noble received two special votes of
thanks from the Court of the Irish Society, likewise
the thanks of the London Livery Companies, being
also presented with the freedom of the City and of
the Company of Ironmongers.

"At the east end of Kent Street, in 1847,"
writes Mr. Blanch, in his "History of Camberwell,"
"was unearthed a pointed arched bridge of the
fifteenth century, probably erected by the monks
of Bermondsey Abbey, lords of the manor. In
Rocque's Map, this arch, called Lock's Bridge, from
being near the Lock Hospital, (fn. 3) carries the road
over a stream which runs from Newington Fields
to Bermondsey!" Lock's Fields, which are still
in existence—at all events in name—on the south
side of the New Kent Road, were doubtless so
named for the same reason.

In Trinity Street—which diverges from Great
Dover Street, and terminates at the junction of
Blackman Street with Newington Causeway—is
Trinity Square, and also Trinity Church, a modern
edifice of the Grecian style of architecture. This
church is situated on the south side of Trinity
Square, at a short distance from Blackman Street,
and nearly on the verge of the parish of St. Mary,
Newington. It is enclosed in a small square of
respectable-looking houses, with a plantation in
the centre, in which is erected a statue of King
Alfred. The portico and principal front of the
church, with the steeple, is placed on the north
side of the body of the edifice; the portico consisting of six fluted Corinthian columns supporting a plain entablature and pediment. The body
of the church is a parallelogram, and is divided
into two storeys by a plain course. The interior
presents a vast unbroken area, roofed in one span,
and the ceiling is panelled. The galleries, resting
on Doric pillars, extend round three sides of the
church, and the altar-screen, situated below the
eastern window, consists of a pediment surmounting
four slabs, inscribed with the Decalogue, &c. The
first stone of the edifice was laid by the Archbishop
of Canterbury in June, 1823, and the building was
consecrated in December of the following year.
The ground on which the church is built was
given by the corporation of the Trinity House,
which possesses considerable property in the
vicinity.

On the south side of Trinity Square, with its
principal entrance in Union Road (formerly Horsemonger Lane), stands the prison and place of
execution for the county of Surrey, commonly
known as Horsemonger Lane Gaol. It is a substantially-built structure, chiefly of brick, arranged
upon the approved plan of John Howard, the
prison philanthropist. It is of a quadrangular
form, with three storeys above the basement, and
was completed for the reception of prisoners in
1798, and has accommodation for 300 prisoners.
This prison not being a house of correction, the
average duration of imprisonment undergone by
each prisoner is very short. Instruction is confined to the juvenile prisoners, who are assembled
in classes for two hours daily. The number of
attendances during the first six months of the year
ending Michaelmas, 1875, was 751; the number
of prisoners confined during the year ending
Michaelmas, 1875, was 3,465; and the greatest
number of prisoners at any one time was 165.

In 1802, Colonel Despard, and about thirty of
his accomplices, were arrested at the "Oakley Arms"
public-house in Lambeth, on a charge of treasonable
conspiracy, tending to dethrone the king and subvert the Government. In the following February
they were tried by a special commission, held in
the Sessions' House adjoining the prison, and the
colonel and six of his colleagues were hung and
beheaded here. It may be added that the "hurdle"
on which the colonel was drawn from the cell in
which he was last confined to the place of execution—in conformity with the sentence formerly passed
upon criminals convicted of high treason—remained
in the gaol till very recently, and was regarded as
an object of curiosity.

This place has its romance, for Leigh Hunt was
for two years (1812–1814) imprisoned here for
libellously styling the Prince Regent, afterwards
George IV., an "Adonis of fifty;" and here it was
that Moore and Lord Byron paid that memorable
visit to "the wit in the dungeon," when the noble
poet saw him for the first time in his life. Mr.
Cyrus Redding, in his "Recollections," says:—"I
remember paying Leigh Hunt a visit in Horsemonger Lane Jail, a miserable low site. I missed
Byron and Moore by only about half an hour, on
the same errand. Horace Smith and Shelley used
to be visitors there, and many others of Hunt's
friends. He was composing 'Rimini,' a copy
of which he gave me, and which I still possess.
His apartment, on the ground floor, was cheerful
for such a place, but that only means a sort of
lacquered gloom after all. I thought of his health,
which seemed by no means strong. I am certain,
if the place was not unwholesome, it lay close
upon the verge of insalubrity. Hunt bore his confinement cheerfully, but he must have had unpleasant moments. He was naturally lively, and
in those days I never knew a more entertaining
companion. For such an one to be alone for
weary, dreary hours, must have been punishment
enough even to satisfy an Ellenborough or a
Jeffries."

"Times and rules are changed since then,"
writes Mr. Hepworth Dixon, in his "London
Prisons:" "the 'luxurious comforts—the trellised
flower-garden without, the books, busts, pictures,
and pianoforte within'—which Moore describes on
the occasion when Byron dined with him in the
prison—would be looked for in vain now." Here
is a picture of the interior of the prison at the time
Mr. Dixon's book was published, only a quarter of
a century ago (1850):—"There are for criminals,"
he writes, "ten classes, or wards, each ward having
its yard and day-room. On entering one of these,
the visitor is painfully impressed with the absence
of all rule and system in the management. He
finds himself in a low, long room, dungeon-like,
chilly, not very clean, and altogether as uncomfortable as it can conveniently be made. This room
is crowded with thirty or forty persons, of all ages
and shades of ignorance and guilt—left to themselves, with no officer in sight. Here there is no
attempt to enforce discipline. Neither silence nor
separation is maintained in the largest prison in
the metropolitan county of Surrey! In this room
we see thirty or forty persons with nothing to do—many of them know not how to read, and those
who do are little encouraged so to improve their
time. Some of them clearly prefer their present
state of listless idleness: with hands in their
pockets, they saunter about their dungeon, or loll
upon the floor, listening to the highly-spiced stories
of their companions, well content to be fed at the
expense of the county—upon a better diet, better
cooked, than they are accustomed to at home—without any trouble or exertion on their own part.
Conversing with them, we find that a few of these
pariahs of civilisation hate the listless, apathetic
bondage in which they are kept; that they would
be glad to have work to do—to get instruction if
they could. But the majority prefer the state of
vegetation as more congenial to their cherished
habits of inaction. Here they are gratified to their
wish." That this state of things no longer exists,
we need scarcely inform our readers; for since the
passing of the Prisons' Discipline Act, in 1865, the
silent system has been adopted here, and the regulations of the prison are carried out on much the
same principle as those at Holloway, which we
have already described, (fn. 4) and the prisoners, excepting in cases of emergency, are confined in
separate cells, and kept entirely apart from each
other.

Down to the passing of the Act by which executions ceased to take place in public, the scaffold
for the execution of criminals at this gaol was
erected upon the roof of the gateway; and the
roadway in front, during these "exhibitions," became the scene of the wildest depravity. Charles
Dickens, who was present at the execution of the
Mannings on the 13th of November, 1849, gives us
the following description of what he saw:—"I was
a witness," he writes, "of the execution at Horsemonger Lane this morning. I went there with the
intention of observing the crowd gathered to behold
it, and I had excellent opportunities of doing so
at intervals all through the night, and continuously
from daybreak until after the spectacle was over.
I believe that a sight so inconceivably awful as the
wickedness and levity of the immense crowd collected at that execution could be imagined by no
man, and could be presented in no heathen land
under the sun. The horrors of the gibbet and of the
crime which brought the wretched murderers to it
faded in my mind before the atrocious bearing, looks,
and language of the assembled spectators. When
I came upon the scene at midnight, the shrillness
of the cries and howls that were raised from time
to time, denoting that they came from a concourse
of boys and girls already assembled in the best
places, made my blood run cold. As the night
went on, screeching, and laughing, and yelling in
strong chorus of parodies on negro melodies, with
substitutions of 'Mrs. Manning' for 'Susannah,'
and the like, were added to these. When the day
dawned, thieves, low prostitutes, ruffians, and vagabonds of every kind, flocked on to the ground,
with every variety of offensive and foul behaviour.
Fightings, faintings, whistlings, imitations of Punch,
brutal jokes, tumultuous demonstrations of indecent
delight when swooning women were dragged out
of the crowd by the police with their dresses disordered, gave a new zest to the general entertainment. When the sun rose brightly—as it did—it
gilded thousands upon thousands of upturned faces,
so inexpressibly odious in their brutal mirth or
callousness, that a man had cause to feel ashamed
of the shape he wore, and to shrink from himself,
as fashioned in the image of the devil. When
the two miserable creatures who attracted all this
ghastly sight about them were turned quivering
into the air, there was no more emotion, no more
pity, no more thought that two immortal souls had
gone to judgment, no more restraint in any of the
previous obscenities, than if the name of Christ
had never been heard in this world, and there
were no belief among men but that they perished
like the beasts. I have seen, habitually, some of
the worst sources of general contamination and
corruption in this country, and I think there are
not many phases of London life that could surprise
me. I am solemnly convinced that nothing that
ingenuity could devise to be done in this city, in
the same compass of time, could work such ruin
as one public execution; and I stand astounded
and appalled by the wickedness it exhibits. I do
not believe that any community can prosper where
such a scene of horror and demoralisation as was
enacted this morning outside Horsemonger Lane
Gaol is presented at the very doors of good citizens,
and is passed by, unknown or forgotten."

The Sessions' House, for the meetings of the
magistrates of the county of Surrey, adjoins the
western side of the prison, and has its front towards
Newington Causeway. This building, together
with the gaol, was completed in 1799, having been
built in conformity with an Act of Parliament,
passed in the year 1791, entitled "An Act for
building a new common gaol and sessions' house,
with accommodations thereto, for the county of
Surrey." In pursuance of this Act, three acres
and a half of land, used by a market gardener,
were purchased; and the two buildings were
erected under the direction of the late Mr. George
Gwilt, the county surveyor, the total cost having
amounted to nearly £40,000. The Sessions' House
has been recently rebuilt; and since 1875 the
whole of the interior has been reconstructed upon
improved principles, and the building new fronted,
under the direction of the county surveyor, Mr.
Howell.